by Susan Palmes-Dennis
Since I'm a technology novice, my first Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam was a scary experience that I had to undergo out of necessity after I felt pain in my left shoulder.
My primary doctor feared that I may have injured the rotator cuff on my shoulder and his diagnosis merely made official the existence of persistent pain in my left shoulder for the past two years which I blame on aging (haha).
The doctor initially gave me pain relievers, specifically anti-inflammatory medicine. A month of taking the medicine didn't ease the pain and I was afraid that my condition was worsening.
So it was back to my primary doctor and he gave me a shot and recommended that I see an orthopedist. I began with physical therapy and it was admittedly difficult, as the left shoulder simply froze on me.
Hence the MRI exam which, according to Wikipedia, is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to take pictures of organs inside the body.
Futuristic chamber
The MRI can show pictures that cannot be produced by other imaging methods like X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography or CT scan. Since it's magnetic, no metals whatsoever is allowed (duh).
I was placed inside a white cylindrical scanner that to me looked like a spaceship; I laid my head on a small pillow and was told not to move while the scanner took photos. Think of it as a futuristic photo booth without the Kodak film, I guess.
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| Photo taken from "howstuffworks.com." |
My arm was under my butt and I was provided earphones to listen to music, thus reinforcing my belief that I'm inside a phone or photo booth. I choose Tchaikovsky to soothe my nerves.
It was okay the first few minutes and after a while I got tired despite listening to Tchaikovsky. It felt like I was in a long train ride with no end in sight. No, make that a long boat ride due to the “chug, chug” sounds I heard on the background.
It reminded me of the sawmills in my native village of Natumolan, Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental, northern Mindanao in the Philippines. A few more minutes and I no longer cared if I rode on a boat or train. I didn't even care that the sounds turned into something like loud, clicking stones.
Bad air
I became anxious and and I opened my eyes thinking that the technician left to take lunch and forgot about me.
I saw white everywhere, my lips and tongue are so dried. I couldn't breathe, my chest was so heavy it felt like someone dumped a sack of rice on me.
Tchaikovsky lost its appeal. Then I began praying the “Our Father” and ”Jesus crucified, cover me with your precious blood” many times. It calmed the nerves but not the impatience that was building in me.
After what seemed to be an eternity and just as I was about to press what I felt like a button, the nurse droned “we are done.”
I was lowered down and a breath of fresh air nearly overwhelmed me as they opened the “chamber.” It was scary for me. The official MRI result: bursitis and osteoarthritis (yup it's aging).
I'm taking different medications now. The orthopedist explained to me that bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa, a fluid sac that lies between a tendon and one's skin.
While the medications really help, the Filipino in me cannot discard the folk belief that that the shoulder pain, like all the kinds of pain I feel due to my aging, is caused by the “bad air” between the joints and ligaments.
And the bad air, according to my parents, can only be removed by a simple swipe of the “haplacios (rubbing) oil” or the “efficascent oil” sold in Elsa's store. What do you think?
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